


I'm not a half, but you make me whole

by Menatiera



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Presents, Crack, Fluff, Getting Together, Harry Potter References, Humor, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, Pining, Sebastian Stan appears for a chapter, Team as Family, They love each other, Tropes, Valentine's Day, WinterIron Spring Fling, but I'm not shipping him with anyone, so that chapter is a bit meta, some light hurt/comfort, there's an MCU inside this MCU universe, winteriron, wow i wrote something without angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-16 16:25:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14814803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Menatiera/pseuds/Menatiera
Summary: Tony had a hard time focusing on anything when Bucky Barnes was around. Suddenly havingtwo Barneses- happy and dandy, charming human and broody, metal-armed supersoldier - didn't help the matter. Not at all.And then there's a mysterious Valentine's Day card in Tony's workshop.Or: Tony's year from January to May, including a new teammate, some special dates, and lots of love.





	1. January

**Author's Note:**

  * For [its_inherited](https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_inherited/gifts).



> I tried to combine three of the original prompts, see them in the end notes to avoid spoilers!  
> Its_inherited, I hope you'll enjoy this!
> 
> Special thanks to:  
> @cpt-winniethepooh as always for being in my corner even when there's a lot going on;  
> @lilianox for reading and cheerleading and loving this story enough to give me strength for writing;  
> @hiriajjuu for the title;  
> @neutralchaos (ch 1-4) and @fuckyeahdeafandbisexual (ch 3-4) for the literally last minute beta work.  
> You are the best and without your constant help and encouragement I couldn't finish anything.

Tony hated magic with passion because magic defied the laws of physics, biology and sanity in general. People can prepare for logical things, superheroes are equipped to deal with unexpected situations even, but magic was impossible to prepare for. Magic was damned cheating.

And the ray-gun the villain of the day swayed in his hands was an unholy bastard child of alien tech and earthly magic, stuck together by duct tape and used chewing gum somehow. Terrible combination, and also, ew. Supervillains lacked decency nowadays. 

Anyway, the bad guy, who had a severe case of bad coping mechanisms, called the gun the Separator, because whatever it hit with its ray came apart to components. That’s why Clint had icing and flour in his hair after standing next to the pastry shop’s show window that got blown up, and Natasha was fighting against tangled threads that were clothes once.

And that’s why Tony’s heart stopped when the Winter Soldier didn’t dodge fast enough and the ray hit him.

“Bucky!” Steve cried out, mission probably forgotten. Therefore Tony shouldn’t let himself be distracted.  _ He  _ had to remain focused and deal with the threat. Which was sheer luck, because he wasn’t brave enough to even look at Bucky’s direction right now, he needed time to prepare for whatever he might see, and there was no way he could face if something… terrible…

He shut down the thought and maximized his speed and efficiency and not three minutes later the bad guy was safely apprehended.

Which meant Tony couldn’t stall more and he had to face his fears. It would have been hell with anyone, but the fact that it was about Bucky… it doubled, tripled, took it to the nth level.

He took deep breaths, in the vain hope of preparing himself for the horrors. Steve was utterly quiet through the commlink, which was never a good sign. But everyone’s breathing patterns were even, and no one was crying or screaming, so… Tony didn’t know what to expect.

It didn’t matter, after all, nothing could have prepared him for this sight.

Steve hugged Bucky tightly, and Bucky clung to his uniform and chuckled, softly, in a barely audible and very much adorable way. Also, he was naked, though Cap’s colossal figure at least meant cover for that, so Tony registered this fact a bit belatedly. But Steve didn’t let himself be entirely lost in the embrace, eyeing another figure behind Bucky’s back. And catching a glimpse of him made Tony’s heart skip a few beats and his brain freeze because there stood… the Winter Soldier himself.

Tony looked back at Bucky, then at the Winter Soldier, then Bucky, then… His head started to spin.

The Winter Soldier met Tony’s eyes and tilted his head to the left, then slowly let a tight, pale smile blossom on his face.

“Fuck,” was all Tony was able to say, stunned.

*

So there were two of Barnes now. 

Big deal. 

SHIELD confiscated the ray-magic-gun first before Tony was able to put his hands on it, so there was no telling how permanent this situation might be. Though Tony was pretty sure he’ll see the weapon again, after SHIELD scientists got their playdate with it and came up empty-handed, because this was what usually happened. But until that point… well, they were screwed. At least Tony was.

Let’s be real, he already needed cold showers on a daily basis before this incident, because Bucky was a goddamned beautiful specimen of a human being.  His blue-grey eyes made even Steves’ pale in comparison and Tony was pretty certain those muscles should be illegal. The goddamned mechanical arm was every engineer’s wet dream. All of these combined with his shy smile, sarcastic humor, the moments when his personality shone through the trauma and past abuse... Tony was a goner.

Literally, if he counted the self-help under the spray of water.

And _now_ he had to deal with _two of them._ One of them was extremely hot – see, the broody Winter Soldier with his death glares, quiet lurking and metal arm had quite a vibe – while the other one was hot _plus_ _mind-blowingly charming_.

Everything Steve talked about, every story of the good old times when Bucky Barnes was the biggest flirt, the funniest guy and the center of every social event? None of those things made sense until now.

Now that,  _ that _ Bucky Barnes was back.Tony was so screwed.

*

It would’ve been easier if Bucky and Winter hadn’t become instant besties. Everyone, Tony as well, expected them to at least be wary in the presence of the other, but nooo. As Tony’s luck went, Bucky and his ex-Hydra persona immediately started to hang out together like peas in a pod.

See, Tony was able to handle one Barnes at a time. It wasn’t easy, but he was a decent human being, so he controlled himself as much as he could. He talked a mile a minute to hide his stupid crush, and sometimes he had to do serious mental gymnastics to distract his mind from the image of a very naked and very horny sidetrack, but he managed.

But two against one just wasn’t fair, and when he saw them together… well. Cold showers weren’t enough anymore.

When Winter Soldier came down for arm maintenance – which wasn’t strictly necessary, but Tony wanted to make sure the separation didn’t damage the mechanical limb somehow –, Bucky arrived with him. Tony was glad they weren’t in a manga, because he would’ve got an instant nosebleed there and then.

Bucky sat at Winter’s feet on the floor during the diagnostic. Tony was pretty accustomed to working on the limb by now and he could tell by the tightness of the wires that the owner was on the verge of losing it, but they didn’t need a break right now: whenever Tony was ready to announce he needs a drink or something, Bucky would lay a hand on Winter’s thigh, mumble some words so quietly Tony couldn’t catch them, and the nerve connections relaxed a bit. It amazed Tony because that was some telepathic-level shit. Which, somewhat, wasn’t entirely out of the question, given the circumstances.

Regardless, the arm was fine. Winter was fine too, though he was mostly nonverbal and had a very teenage-gothic-phase vibe around him. Bucky, of course, was better than fine. He literally bounced with excitement when he and Steve arrived home from a science museum; he shamelessly flirted with every woman in the Tower – not seriously enough to cause mayhem and knightly duels from their respective other halves, but it was enough even for Pepper to turn into a giggling, blushing schoolgirl –; and he was basically never alone.

Tony had thought Barnes – his old, unseparated self – with the impressive metal arm and mysterious behavior was irresistibly attractive and nothing could top that.

Tony was obviously a fool who knew nothing.

He spent even more time in the workshop, drowning himself in blueprints and projects to avoid the double trouble.


	2. February

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise waits for Tony on Valentine's Day.

The card sat innocently on his workbench, as Tony cautiously circled around it. It didn’t blow up or started raining hell, not even when he stepped closer to investigate. “What is this, Jarvis?” he asked as he picked up the mysterious item.

“I believe it to be a Valentine’s Day card, Sir,” the AI’s voice answered, with a particular intonation that suggested he’s questioning his creator’s genius.

“I can see that,” Tony replied dryly. “But what is it doing here?”

“Nothing that could be count as harmful or dangerous, according to my sensors. Which isn’t surprising given it’s a piece of paper with pigment on it.”

“Very funny, Jay.”

“My guess would be it was waiting on  you to receive it, Sir.”

“Who would send me something like this?” Tony asked, baffled.

“I’m sorry, Sir, it would go against tradition if I were to reveal that information,” the modulated voice didn’t even sound sorry.

“You would hide this information from your Dad?!” Tony clutched his heart with a dramatic gesture.

“I’m your AI, not your spy, Sir. This piece of information has nothing to do with your mental or physical well-being.”

“What about my emotional well-being?”

“I wasn't aware you were acknowledging anything of the sort lately.”

“You’re a menace.”

“I guess you’ll just have to find the consignor by yourself, Sir.”

“You are disowned from the family, just so you know.”

*

Tony examined the card more closely. It was entirely handmade: the fancy paper had a soft and creamy pastel tone instead of white. The drawing on the front was minimalistic and straightforward: a wand and a broomstick crossed, a striped scarf colored red and gold, then some space above. At the upper half, a pair of thick circular glasses were accompanied by a lightning bolt scar. Tony blinked owlishly, then opened the card.

 _“You’re my favorite muggle,”_ it read inside, with handwriting that was supposed to be artistic but screamed more about the effort this finesse took from the writer.

Tony definitely didn’t tear up at the sight of a Harry Potter reference directed towards him. No way.

And if he gingerly traced his fingers through the words, so what. It had been left for him.

It had been left for him, right?

“Are you sure it’s not a mistake or a joke?” he asked Jarvis, just to be sure.

“I’m not concerned about the honesty of the sender’s intentions,” his AI answered diplomatically.

That was the moment Tony noticed the back of the card, more precisely the other message that was written there. Instead of the careful cursive on the inside, these words were scribbled with letters that could also be dubbed as a fine print, orderly and neat.

_“Annoyingly I like you way more than I’d originally planned.”_

There was even a tiny Slytherin snake in the corner, basically just a curly green line with a red tongue sticking out and two dot as eyes.

That settled the deal. Tony had to find who could be behind this. He tucked the card into his pocket and headed to the stairs.

*

Since Jarvis had refused to answer, citing phrases about privacy and not engrossing the inhabitants’ personal space, Tony went looking for the person who knew anything and everything that happened in the Tower. Natasha wasn’t a master spy for nothing.

Sadly, that also meant she didn’t give up information that easily. Amusement sparkled in her eyes as Tony tried to draw something out of her.

“Why would anyone send you a Valentine’s Day card, Tony? We’re not really into this holiday, you know,” she batted her lashes innocently until Tony had no other option than show her the card.

“Ooooh,” she cooed. “This is adorable.”

As if on cue, Clint dropped from the vents above them, landing softly next to Natasha and startling Tony so badly he nearly tripped over his own feet.

“Fuck, Barton, I have a _heart condition_!” Tony protested indignantly.

“You have an attitude, that’s what you have,” Barton fired back, and looked down at the card. “Oh look. Whoever sent this, they’re a keeper, Stark. You’d better catch them like a snitch,” he laughed.

Tony debated if he should suit up an armor. Maybe shooting them in the ass with a repulsor beam would be satisfying. It wouldn’t even be fatal given they’re in their respective uniforms, because Tony designed them to withstand even a full onslaught, but it would be definitely fun to watch them try to dodge the hits.

Instead of taking revenge for making fun of him, Tony just snatched the card back.

“Don’t tell anyone about it, or I’ll make your arrows blow up in your face, Birdbrain,” he warned and stomped out of the room.

*

It was artistic stuff.

Steve knew most about artistic stuff.

It’s not like Tony was dumb or uneducated in the topic, it’s just the fact that he never really had had an interest in the fine arts. He preferred the more practical aspects of material craftsmanship, see engineering. See, spending the time to, for example, stab something repeatedly for several thousand times with a needle until it resulted in a picture seemed like too much of a fuss. Especially if the same work could’ve been done way faster,easier and more precisely with finely tuned machines. So casual handicraft was just not for him. He did know some things about popular and famous artists, but only barely, and never intended to have in-depth knowledge. _Especially_ not about calligraphy styles and colored pens. (Seriously, who used pens in the 21st century at all. It’s the digital era, for fuck’s sake.)

So he had to rely on Steve.Which apparently wasn’t a good idea, because Steve stared at the card like he’d seen a ghost and then he turned pink. First it was just the tip of his ears, but it quickly grew and expanded to his whole face until it deepened to the shade that could match his uniform strips.

“Wow, I mean, Tony, heck, this is very thoughtful of someone,” he stammered. “I’m so glad you got a card. Really, it’s great.”

“Yeah, it is,” Tony decided to be patient with Steve. Apparently a fossil like him was embarrassed by a little Valentine’s Day card for some creepy reason? Honestly, Tony didn’t want to know. They probably didn’t have Valentine’s Day as a holiday at all, back in the Depression.

That, or Steve sent the card, but that was out of the question.

First, Steve would do better than colored pencil and felt pen, and more importantly, he wouldn’t do that to Peggy. (Yes, interdimensional travel was a rather useful stunt in their line of work, but that was another tale and not at all important momentarily. Move on.) So either it was some alternate-universe-Steve pranking their Steve, or the color of tomato had nothing to do with Steve’s involvement in the matter.

“Do you have any idea of who could’ve sent it?”

“Not at all,” Cap lied.

Tony rolled his eyes. How a high-ranking military officer could have such a horrible poker face, he had no idea. But he knew there was no point in trying to force answers out of Rogers once he declared he knew nothing. Not even Tony was stubborn enough for that.

Anyway, he had a mystery at hand to solve, and he had no time for Steve’s bullshit, however oblivious it was.

*

Tony mentally counted. Clint, Nat and Steve were out of the equation. Bruce was not in the count to start with – not as long as Betty was alive, which she was, thank fuck, and cheating on her wasn’t Bruce’s style. Tony carefully avoided their floor on this particular day, because as shy as the good Doctor could be on an average occasion, he became really protective of Betty whenever the topic involved her in any kind, shape or form. (Not like Betty needed any protection, of course. She punched her father in the face on live television, for example.)

Rhodey would make fun of him if he’d accuse him of such nonsense like sending him this card. Firstly, because they were over these low-level pranks even during their university days, and secondly, because a card sent by Rhodey would involve at least a few more puns.

He even looked for Thor (assuming he might have been misunderstanding some earthly traditions and sent a card by accident to Tony), which went just as well as one could imagine. Tony hoped that a proper amount of alcohol would bleach his mind of the images of Jane and Thor, stark naked and into the kinky spectrum of celebrating Valentine’s Day.

This left only one – okay, technically two – options open; one and a half options, maybe. The person Tony simultaneously feared and hoped through his search.

He hoped because, _helloooo_ , he had the biggest crush on the guy in the history of crushes, and wouldn’t that be awesome… And feared to ask for the same reason.

Why would Bucky Barnes send a Valentine’s Day card to Tony? Seriously. This was stupid and probably destined to turn into a really awkward situation. Anyway, Bucky had better things to do than making a card, by his own hands, to Tony. Like… like… he had a workout routine, obviously, and reading and watching movies and catching up with pop culture, and he had Winter by his side, and…

Okay, Tony could’ve listed all the excuses as long as he’d like, this wouldn’t change the fact that the Barnes duo were the only ones left by the end of his investigation.

*

It would’ve been easier to talk them separately, but Tony wanted an answer, and he wasn’t famous for his patience. Then Tony had a brilliant idea – he wasn’t a genius for nothing. He could ask one to leave him alone with the other while they talk. Revolutionary, right?

The only problem, now he had to figure out which one to talk to and which one to send away.

But in the end, it wasn’t needed.

The moment they saw him approaching, Bucky smiled brightly like the sun as Winter paled like his name. They looked at each other, Bucky grabbed Winter by the arm, grinned the most shit-eating grin in his arsenal, and yanked him out of the room. They parkoured their way through the corridor and down the stairs, movements in sync, Winter quiet like always and Bucky chuckling like a maniac.

Tony couldn’t help himself when he saw a challenge: he lunged after them, calling in a suit. The armor arrived piece by piece, at first the boots allowing him to fly downwards (okay, to fall with style), then the gauntlets, then the rest. Tony loved his suit, and Jarvis, and his life in these moments; they went by Steve in the kitchen who only gaped after them, and Clint yelled some encouragement to everyone involved as Tony chased the pair through the living room.

By the time he successfully cornered them in the swimming pool room, he completely forgot to be nervous about this whole encounter: he jumped on Bucky and tackled him to the ground. He let the helmet dissolve from around his head and immediately felt a cold metal hand at the back of his neck.

He wasn’t afraid, and the pressure wasn’t threatening, despite him sitting on Bucky while Winter was towering above them from behind.

“In my defense,” Bucky said, “it seemed like a good idea before I actually made it.”

Tony, though very much wanted to say a lot of things, just raised a questioning eyebrow, amazed and curious for the follow-up statement.

“C’mon, say something, I know you like Harry Potter. You literally made us watch the whole series in two days after you insisted us to read it.” Bucky smiled at Tony, and even though he was all charm and bravado, this close-up his eyes almost screamed his nervousness. He did an excellent job of hiding it though.

“I like Harry Potter,” Tony admitted. “That’s admittedly not the reason I make you catch up with classics.”

“It can’t be classic, it’s fairly new,” Winter said quietly, his thumb making soothing circles on Tony’s skin.

“I did my best, though, so you have to make that count,” Bucky shrugged. “Winter too.” The circles stopped. “So, I guess… I hope you at least liked it. I mean. You don’t have to…” Bucky trailed off, never finishing the sentence, turning his gaze away.

Tony leaned closer,“So which one of you sent it?” He already knew the answer, but wanted to hear it for sure before making his move.

“Well, I guess I’m the one to blame,” Bucky swallowed hard, and Tony’s eyes involuntarily slipped to his Adam’s apple.

“With my approval,” Winter added, barely audible, stepping back and pulling his hand away. Tony was hardly paying any attention to him; his focus zeroed on Bucky right now.

He bent forward, fascinated, by Bucky’s smile, the curve of his lips in a confident gesture while his eyes spoke of insecurity and anxiety. His hands that were on the floor until this point, now cradled Tony’s armored hips, squeezing hard enough for the pressure to be palpable even through the layers of metal, despite the lack of superpowers.

“If I overstepped then—” Bucky started, but Tony muted him by kissing him.

It was almost innocent at first, barely pressing their lips together, but Bucky opened his mouth and moaned into the kiss and Tony wasn’t able to think clearly anymore.

It was better than he imagined – and oh, he imagined it a million times, with a billion different situations, but never this: Bucky, winded and smiling under him after a chase, anxious and keen, confident and enthusiastic and nervous at the same time. He never could’ve anticipated his taste, sweet and raw and magical, or the way their tongues moved and discovered the new sensation of feeling each other, or the little lick in the end when Tony receded to take a breath.

“No,” he said. “Not at all.”

Bucky rose up and kissed him again.

“About time,” someone sighed above them.

Tony, however reluctantly, let go of Bucky’s lips to look up at Winter. He replayed the last minutes in his head until he found the sentences the Soldier said. Given how rarely he spoke, the words meant an even bigger impact.

“Wait, you wrote the back of the card,” Tony realized, remembering the almost print like handwriting. He looked back at Bucky, then at Winter again and hesitated. How do you ask politely if your crush’s unexpected twin has a crush on you or not? “Does that mean…” He had no idea how to finish that sentence.

Winter stepped back until his back hit the wall. “No.”

Bucky gently turned Tony’s face back. “He’s not into… well, anyone, really,” he explained, as diplomatically as he could. “Him participating was more of an, uh, gesture that he doesn’t mind if we figure this out. Figure us out.”

Tony sighed. “Well. I’m not saying I’m against a threesome…” he joked, his eyes sparkled as Bucky’s hands trailed to his butt.

“Sorry, honey, that would be like fucking myself, and we’re not into that.”

“Worth a try.” But he wasn’t disappointed at all.

“Kiss me more instead.”

Tony happily obeyed.

*

So. That’s how Tony ended up with a boyfriend on Valentine’s day.


	3. March

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday, Bucky!

Having a boyfriend was great and Tony would recommend it to anyone that might ask. Living with said boyfriend was also convenient in terms of managing two superhero schedules  _ plus _ a relationship on top of that would’ve been a bitch otherwise.

Tony had  _ responsibilities _ .

Tony had  _ priorities. _

Sadly, Tony and Bucky had disagreements about these priorities and responsibilities, meaning Bucky was adamant that Tony shouldn’t throw them all to the bin and spend the rest of his days kissing Bucky with only food and bathrooms breaks. The heathen.

Keeping Steve more or less in check during their youth probably prepared Bucky to handle Tony better than anybody would’ve expected. So Tony maintained his schedule that Pepper’s PA presented to him on a weekly basis; he attended the galas that he was supposed to, did the presentations SI wanted and brainstormed with R&D regularly. He also managed to accomplish his Iron Man duties without fail.

But Bucky spent more time in the workshop, usually either with Winter or with Steve in tow. They were quiet and minded their own business while Tony tinkered: Bucky was watching movies with headphones on, Winter was sharpening his knives or reading some papers, while Steve had a book or a sketchpad in his lap.

They altered their workout schedule to be able to do the exercises together – it especially made sense since both of them counted as regular humans among the superpowered ones now. Watching Steve and Winter sparring was _fun_ , but even imagining to be between these two was terrifying, honestly. So Tony dubbed as a weight sometimes while Bucky was doing pushups, for example, while Bucky provided a good target for non-lethal shooting practice (and giving a mini heart attack to the others by doing so was just a bonus).

They held hands under the table during team dinners, and Tony sat with Bucky during movie nights, limbs entwined, his head on Bucky’s shoulder and fingers resting on his arm as Bucky pressed him close, Steve at Bucky’s other side and Winter sitting at their feet as a solid and steady presence.

All in all: everything was great.

Except that Tony was a perfectionist. And it was the first time that he had a romantic affiliation stable enough to count it as an actual, honest to God relationship with a living breathing creature, so. It meant he had to do it perfectly.

Including birthdays.

And Bucky’s birthday was unfortunately very close, and Tony had to come up with something spectacular for the occasion.

Luckily for him, he was a genius, and also, he had a running list of gift ideas, and also, he decided months ago what he wanted to give Bucky. It was just better to give it as a boyfriend than it would’ve been as a simple teammate.

*

Tony wanted this day to be entirely about Bucky, so Natasha took Winter out for the day. It wasn’t like Tony disliked him or his presence, but they agreed March 10 th was definitely not what they counted as Winter’s birthday. The debate was still not settled on the actual date – so far the hit with the Separator and the anniversary of the Potomac where Barnes snapped out of the brainwashing was the winner options – but March 10 th was Bucky’s day.

They weren’t sleeping together –  _ yet _ , Tony promised himself – so he couldn’t kiss Bucky good morning first thing, but he made sure to be up before him and deliver coffee to bed. He didn’t join Bucky in said bed – again, they were doing things slowly and this was something they both agreed to be kinda-sorta necessary – but he made sure to give the longest, hottest, filthiest kiss of the history of kisses and then whispered sweet and naughty reassurances to Bucky’s ear.

They almost got too distracted, but Tony had a plan, so he tore himself apart from Bucky’s lips and ordered him to get dressed.

The drive was quiet, their lips busy without forming words until they arrived at their destination that Tony refused to say anything about beforehand. Bucky seemed somewhat nervous when he realized it was a high-class hotel, but as a true superhero, he didn’t protest.

The room they were led to was tastefully designed without any hint of actual personality behind it, but that wasn’t the intention anyway. The creamy couches and armchairs looked comfortable at least, the small table in the middle held a vase of freshly cut flowers, some snacks and drinks. Tony let Bucky enter the room first.

“Oh my God!” came the whisper from inside.

“Oh my God!” Bucky said at the same time. The two statements were so freaking familiar to each other that Tony had to hold his breath as he followed his boyfriend.

“Hello, Mr. Stan, I’m so glad you accepted my invitation,” Tony said.

Sebastian Stan and Bucky Barnes gaped at each other like a couple of fish. The actor’s stunned grin stretched almost from ear to ear, while Bucky toned down his expression a bit, but Tony could practically feel the excitement vibrating from him.

“Tony, how did you—?”

“Holy... I mean, it’s an honor, Mr. Stark, this is—”

It was adorable, how they started to talk at the same moment, and how they both cut their sentence in half when realizing it; though Bucky was a bit quicker. Not surprising, given his past. The three of them stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Don’t mind me,” Tony suggested at last. “As I’m sure you know, Sebastian – mind if I call you Sebastian? – Bucky has his birthday today and, he’s a huge fan of your work. Especially, of course, of your work of portraying him.” He winked at them, not minding at all that Bucky blushed like a virgin on her wedding night.

“Wow,” Sebastian breathed out. “You know I’ve wanted actually meet you since forever? I always begged the directors to arrange a meeting, but the Avengers PR Office always shut it down.”

Well. There were reasons, back in the day, why the PR staff didn’t trust Barnes. Those reasons included him saying firm noes to press events at first, and a few unlucky photographers found pinned to walls by their clothes (their skin intact and unscratched) later when he was forced to do one. Barnes was very effective at protecting his interests, with or without Winter, though the methods were vastly different.

Right now, Bucky was stunned speechless, as far as Tony was concerned, his eyes were scanning his movie counterpart - they looked similar, but not entirely doppelgangers, thank fuck because  _ two Buckys _ was probably enough for a world. ( Of course Tony thought his one was the more handsome, though an army of Sebastian's dedicated fans would probably disagree with him, they didn't have the original one, so screw them. Tony was sure of his right.)

Of course, very few people knew about Bucky and Winter having separate bodies nowadays, and that didn’t include the most of the PR Office, so Bucky was still out of press duty – something most of the Avengers envied –, but Tony never waited for anyone’s approval when he had brilliant ideas.

Like this one.

Bucky stepped closer to the actor, amazed. “You made them like me,” he said softly.

Tony’s heart ached whenever he saw proof the depths of Bucky’s insecurities. He sat down on an armchair and took his phone out to pretend he was working instead of eavesdropping.

Sebastian shrugged shyly. “I just… I just did my best to portray you, based on the evidence that was given to me or what I could find on my own. You… You deserved that at the least.”

“You did way more than that,” Bucky said, and Tony was glad that he bit his tongue so he didn’t interrupt the slowly forming conversation between the two of them with statistics and math about just how much the audience loved the movie-version of Bucky Barnes. “You made me—  _ him _ a fan-favorite. I— how could I ever thank you?”

Tony chewed on his lips some more. Bucky didn’t seem as happy, as Tony thought he might be with this gift. He seemed distant and lost.

Sebastian put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder, before pulling him closer and folding him into his arms. Bucky hesitated only for a passing second, his arms flailing in the air awkwardly, then he hugged back with surprising intensity.

“Thank me? Are you kidding me?” Sebastian murmured, hiding the blush on his face in Bucky's neck. “Playing you made me an A-list actor in Hollywood. I got roles I couldn’t dream about before Marvel. They don’t like you because of me. They like you because of who you are and because you inspire them to become the heroes they can be. To overcome the struggles like you did.”

Tony barely heard the words; he was busy swallowing back his own emotions facing the intimate moment. He didn’t dare to move, not wanting to draw attention to himself, as Sebastian and Bucky sat down and started to talk – about themselves, about the filming, about  _ Bucky _ .

He thought how differently this conversation would’ve gone if Winter had been in the room, or with Bucky before the Separator accident. Sure, Winter  _ was _ part of Bucky, or at least was built and originated of him. They shared the same foundation, but Winter was designed for war and was treated like a machine for such a long time that it showed. Winter couldn’t have sat there and opened up to a stranger, no matter how  _ intimate _ they’d feel given the circumstances. He’d be wary, concerned and closed off – he was still mostly non-verbal, even with his teammates after all, the only exception was Bucky.

Sebastian had spent the last few years trying to be Bucky as well as he could, and he did a marvelous job. It was especially unnerving now when Tony saw them side by side as a direct comparison. They moved in unison, mirroring each others body language, even their expressions mimicked each other’s most of the time. The fact that it went both ways showed not only how deeply Sebastian understood the character he portrayed, and how much he was able to identify with him, but also how accurate that understanding was, how true it was  to Bucky’s real nature.

And maybe it also showed that Bucky, despite how many people joked about the differences between Sebastian as a person and the character he played on the screen, weren’t as different as others may have assumed. Bucky, if he had been given better circumstances, could’ve been someone like Sebastian, and Tony wasn’t the only one who noticed this detail.

“I never imagined you to be this…” the actor looked for the proper words.

“Relaxed?” Bucky guessed with a grin.

Sebastian stuck his tongue out for a second. “…this similar to me,” he finished after some consideration.

Tony smiled only to himself. Maybe Sebastian – and some of his fans – were right. Maybe the enthusiasm and openness were just as much Bucky Barnes as his sharpshooting skills or his loyalty. Only it took a person this close to him – someone who was living in Bucky’s head and skin for years – to see beyond the masks.

It was heartbreaking, how well-guarded and deep-rooted that mask must have been, given most of the time it was firmly in place even without Winter in the equation. But, well. Bucky didn’t have a carefree childhood or youth either. His hardships didn’t start with HYDRA, though they were unquestionably responsible for the hardest decades.

Bucky and Sebastian talked and talked and  _ talked. _ Tony stopped paying attention after a while and continued to fiddle with a blueprint on his phone instead, giving them as much privacy as he could while still being present. (That was the deal for the lack of any other oversight.)

Lunchtime came and passed, and as the  evening settled Tony was sorry for having to interrupt them. Sebastian probably had plans and responsibilities for the next day, and Tony and Bucky had to get back to the Tower. So Tony cleared his throat and then waited for the next forty minutes to them saying their goodbyes, exchanging numbers and reassuring each other approximately a hundred times that it’s completely okay to reach out for the other, and they’d gladly meet more in the future.

All in all, it was a great afternoon. Bucky made a new friend, someone who understood him just as much as the Avengers did, despite being a civilian.

Tony was pretty sure his birthday gift was the best, and Bucky’s tired but extremely enthusiastic kisses conveyed the same message.

It didn’t mean they could skip the birthday party, though. Natasha served a cake with nearly a hundred candles on Cap’s shield. Clint shot everyone’s hats with toy arrows. Bruce mixed cocktails for everyone’s likings. Thor won a drinking contest against everyone except Peggy – who probably cheated anyway, or dimensional travel had a weird side effect of alcohol resistance. Steve made a fool of himself on the dance floor while Jane and Betty provided a surprisingly excellent DJ service. Rhodey and Pepper were adorable together. Even Nick Fury was there, with a Winter Soldier-themed eyepatch and to everyone’s utmost shock he was sitting on a couch and smiled at people. It was effective as it made everyone keep a safe distance from the Director, which was probably the reason why Winter joined him on the couch, face carefully neutral while sipping his drink.

“Do you want to run away?” Tony asked Bucky after midnight, as the fireworks show finished. He wasn’t surprised when Bucky looked at him like he was crazy. 

He smiled gently, held his hand out and invited to dance with him.


	4. April

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on in the Tower. There's a mission, too...

As predicted, Tony got his hands on the Separator, when half a dozen SHIELD Agents brought it to his workshop after Fury approved of him studying it. Which translated to  _ ‘we have no idea what is this, how can it work or how long its effects will last, so figure it out, Stark’ _ in SHIELD talk.

Not like Tony minded much, as long as he got the chance to make sure Bucky and Winter weren’t in any danger.

He got some files as well, but instead of reading them he just scanned them so Jarvis could account them on simulations, as Tony did his own tests and examinations, and so far the first results were promising.

*

Life moved on in the Tower. Tony and Bucky being an item stopped being a novelty and everyone got accustomed to the fact that Winter guarded them like his life depended on it. Everything went back to normal, or to what could be counted as normal for a scientist that transformed into a green rage monster, a Norse God of Thunder, folks from the Second World War, superspies, assassins and a genius billionaire.

They went on missions as they did before but with an extra addition. Tony christened Bucky as the Summer Sergeant on the field to distinguish between him and Winter. They discovered Winter was a decent cook which resulted in a major upheaval of the chores allocation (a good cook was often more important than a good combatant in the Tower); and Peggy had one more sniper to complain about after shooting practices.

Clint started a bet on how long will it take until the general public realizes there were two Barnes now, and Natasha added a pool on how long will it take until  _ the government _ and/or  _ the supervillains _ realize it. So far it hadn’t happened, which meant that Bruce was already losing both of the bets and Tony had high hopes of winning.

Things were perfect.

Which is of course was the reason the universe took it as a challenge.

*

It seemed like a simple mission, gathering intel from one of Doom’s many bases around the world. They weren’t expecting supervillains, super traps, or anything super, basically. It was supposed to be just a warehouse, loosely guarded by some hired muscle. 

Knocking them out went flawlessly and indeed, Tony was able to stop the alarms from alerting anyone else of their presence. (The perks of working with the world’s most advanced AI, but also his own genius brilliance, of course.) Or so he thought.

The double-Barnes situation hadn't interfere with missions so far, because they were often simply paired together as the snipers for the team when in the field (sometimes they were accompanied by Barton, sometimes not.) This time wasn’t different, and after every potential threat from the outside was eliminated, they joined them inside to raid over the underground levels of the warehouse.

Winter looked for Tony effectively in the haze of corridors, something Tony found to be a fantastic skill. The three of them teamed up as Peggy, Widow, Hawkeye and Cap searched the facility from the other end, while Banner stayed in the quinjet as emergency backup and Thor guarded perimeter from above.

(The Avengers learned the hard way not to let Thor fight in closed off underground spaces, because the God of Thunder had little to no respect towards structural integrity, therefore he managed to collapse the whole base that one time.

Luckily, only Tony and Winter was in there at the time, and they survived thanks to a durable metal suit on one hand, and a vibranium arm combined with superhealing on the other. The incident still shaved some years off of the other team members, though.)

They were almost halfway through when Winter halted and stared at the wall.

More precisely, at the HYDRA insignia painted on it.

“Shit,” Tony said as Bucky shuddered with a scowl on his face, and Winter’s face remained impressively blank. 

Winter tilted his head to the left like he was listening in on something. Tony turned up his sensors a notch, but couldn’t detect anything unusual. “Cap, we have a problem,” he reported. “It seems like this place is not only a Latverian playground, but it’s also HYDRA as well. Or was. Hard to tell, I’d need to decrypt their files to know what’s going on and that likely won’t happen today.”

The two Barnes shared a glance. Winter had tinted goggles on, while Bucky only wore a domino mask, but they still were able to communicate only with their eyes. “Something’s wrong,” Bucky – oh, sorry, Summer Sergeant – voiced Winter’s concern.

“Does anyone else has a sudden headache?” Steve said through the comms at the same time. Winter nodded, but Tony only shrugged. He wasn’t stupid enough to ignore two supersoldiers’ field-perfected senses,after all.

“I have nothing, but Grumpy Cat here has earned his name today,” he said to Steve as Winter glared at him. 

“Everyone, be careful,” Steve warned. “This might be a trap—”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Tony muttered and Bucky chuckled dryly beside him.

“—but we have to find out how. Watch your back, never lose sight of each other.”

“Copy,” Bucky said.

“понял,” Winter agreed in Russian. It wasn’t unusual – he reverted back to his native tongue whenever he wasn’t relaxed, if he spoke at all anyway.

They moved on, deeper into the belly of the lair. Winter took deep breaths, audible through the commlinks, and Bucky drew closer and closer to him with each step, and Winter leaned on him as well, which made Tony frown.

Winter never got close to anyone, not even to Bucky, in the field, but Tony wasn’t sure what this could—

Winter grunted, and tore himself away from Bucky’s side, stumbling back. “Блядь!”

Bucky instinctively stepped closer, and Winter  _ fled from him _ .

“What the—”

Tony thought he heard something, but he couldn’t be sure because it was so quiet, barely there. His bare human hearing wasn’t able to distinguish words, but he had Jarvis. Knowing his creator the AI provided the information immediately, Tony didn't even had to ask out loud.

“It’s in Russian, Sir,” the AI said. “Seventeen – Daybreak –”

“Fuck!” Bucky echoed Winter, realizing something, “trigger words!”

Winter pressed his hands on his ears and backed away from them, squeezing his eyes shut. He struggled – he fought against it. His muscles flexed, and the vein on his temple throbbed with effort, whatever it took of him.

“What’s happening?” Peggy’s voice coming from the comms seemed utterly unimportant at the moment.

“Can we—” Tony wasn’t sure what to ask, and watched the analysis running at the right side of his screen with half of an eye while Jarvis listed two more trigger words into his ears.

“Buck? Tony? Winter, report!” Steve tried as well, but none of them listened to him either.

Bucky stared at Winter who opened his eyes to look back, expression carefully blank but raw panic in his eyes, he wasn’t blinking at all and every muscle of his body was in a straining knot as he sank his metal fingers to the wall he was leaning to—

Tony couldn’t afford to panic as well. “Activated by audible input, huh?” Tony asked, from no one in particular as his thoughts raced. There was an easy cure for that. At least he hoped so. “Bucky, get down!” he ordered, and raised his hands toward Winter. A weapon emerged from the wrists of the suit.

They both trusted him. Bucky ducked. Winter stayed in place, eyes on Tony and didn’t dodge.

The sound cannon’s shot hit Winter with full force.

“Freight car.” Jarvis fell silent for a moment. The next word didn’t need a translator, and it wasn’t quiet anymore. The hidden speakers on the corridor conveyed the voice of a confident man audible to everyone.

“Soldat?”

Winter didn’t react. He stayed in place, face twisted into the expression of pain, eyes on Bucky and Tony, and none of them dared to step closer to him.

“Mission objective: kill the Avengers, Soldat!” the speakers said.

Winter didn’t move, but slowly, almost imperceptibly he started to relax.

Tony exhaled and cautiously stepped closer. “Barton, get your ass here ASAP,” he said to the comm, then opened up the faceplate and smiled at the ex-assassin. “I am so sorry, Winter, I had to do it.” He lifted his hands, palms out, but Winter focused on his lips. No wonder. Tony kind of assumed he was taught to lip-read and it seemed like the case. “I had to deafen you, I’m sorry. You will heal, it’s not permanent to you.”

It would’ve been for a regular human – if Bucky would’ve been in the way of the shot, for example –, but the superserum was useful like this.

Winter took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then he lifted his hand.

Bucky brushed through Tony without hesitation and took it, clung to Winter like his life depended on it, pulled him into a tight embrace and buried his face to Winter’s neck.

Winter patted Bucky’s back, looked at Tony and nodded, his eyes almost calm by now.

Tony didn’t need Bucky to translate the gesture to words. Winter understood and accepted the decision Tony made – more so, he was grateful for it. They avoided a disaster today. Tony turned away and faced the corridor, hands ready to shot at any enemy who might wanted to approach them. “We’re staying where we are, Cap, take them down,” he said. As much as he hated these assholes, he was content guarding his lover and his friend while Steve and Peggy (and Natasha) got the satisfying chance to tear down another one of their arch enemy’s bases to the ground.

*

Movie night started a bit awkward, with a teammate who was deaf. Well, technically Clint was deaf too, but he had hearing aids, while Winter didn’t, and he insisted he didn’t need one for this short time. Not with lip reading and with half of his teammates knowing sign language.

They put on subtitles, and after the stressful day, they decided to watch something lighthearted – or so they thought. Turned out, just because something was an animated movie, didn’t necessarily meant it was all happy and dandy.

Within the first ten minutes of  _ Up _ , half of them shed at least a few tears for Ellie – and for Carl losing her. Even Peggy teared up, and she rarely cried. Only Bucky and Winter seemed to be okay, though that was mostly because they didn’t even watch the movie, being busy with Bucky’s phone, making entire conversations with only their eyes and expressions.

At one point Bucky showed the screen to Tony. Under various memes and fan-edited pictures sent back and forth between them, Sebastian’s last text said:  _ “So, did you invite Black Widow on a date by now? I’m so rooting for you!” _

Bucky chuckled. “Do you mind—?”

He didn’t need to finish the question, Tony smiled back despite his face still being wet, thanks to the evil cartoon. “Feel free,” he said. Bucky took a picture of their hands, holding each other, fingers folded together firmly.

_ “Sorry, man, I had other plans.” _

Then he laughed again, probably imagining Sebastian spitting out his drink and spending the next thirty hours trying to figure out with which male teammate Bucky has an affair or a relationship instead of Natasha, or something like that. Tony shook his head and kissed his boyfriend.

If only Sebastian did know that the fan theory of Clint and Natasha together was not only a theory, but in fact the two were legitimately married...

Bucky’s eyes met Tony’s, and he was pretty sure they thought the same thing.

That was for another time to tell, and after another permission.


	5. May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday, Tony!

Tony’s birthday approached rapidly, and it made the team antsy. More importantly, it made Bucky anxious.

For the first time, Tony regretted giving Bucky the meeting with Sebastian as a birthday gift, because now Bucky was fretting over having to give Tony an equally good present. Which just wasn’t fair.

Giving a birthday gift to Bucky was easy. Seriously, the guy grew up in a time when having an ice-cream was a luxury he could barely afford, and arrived a few decades late to a century that offered physical goods like palm-sized computers and the carelessness of being funded by both the government and a billionaire. Meanwhile Tony was rich since the moment he was born, could easily afford the Chrysler Building if he’d want to and he had everything he could wish for.

So. The difficulty of their task when looking for presents wasn’t really balanced. Tony fully understood that. He tried to even tell Bucky, but no matter how much he said he didn’t care about gifts and he didn’t need anything, really,  _ nothing _ , Bucky didn’t listen. The heathen.

So Bucky was nervous, which consequently made everyone else nervous, which made Tony grumpy as well. May didn’t seem to be a good month after all.

Then around the middle of the month (and probably after a little heart to heart with Natasha and brainstorming with Steve, not like Tony had proof of any of that) Bucky relaxed, and everything was back to more or less normal.

*

On his birthday, precisely one minute after midnight, Bucky knocked on Tony’s workshop door, jogged in and gave a long, passionate kiss before Tony had enough time to so much as lift his hands. Which was more than okay. “Happy birthday, sweetheart,” Bucky smiled at the end of their kiss.

Then Tony was dragged to bed, tucked under the blankets carefully, and Bucky stood at the edge of the bed for a moment. “Mind if I stay here with you now?” he asked, shy and quiet.

Tony’s heartbeat drummed in his ears frantically.

“I’d like that,” he rasped out.

Bucky immediately slipped under the blanket too and hugged Tony to his chest from behind, strong arms embracing him and warm breath tickling Tony’s neck. Bucky even paid attention to place his hands on Tony’s stomach instead of his chest where he might bother the ARC-reactor. The heat of Bucky’s body was familiar and comfortable from the many cuddling, even though they never slept together before.

“Is it okay?” Bucky asked. Tony only sighed, content, as an answer. He imagined his night will be filled with naughty dreams, given his hard on, not like he minded. This, having Bucky close and sleeping together was more than okay.

*

Bucky somehow managed to get out of the bed without waking him up, and Tony suspected superspy stealth lessons from Winter  _ and _ Natasha for pulling this stunt successfully. He was a light sleeper, especially since the reactor that made most sleeping positions uncomfortable after a short while. Anyway, he got coffee in bed. Tony loved his boyfriend all the time, but there were times when this feeling was more powerful than usual, and this morning was one of them.

He made grabby motions with his free hand towards Bucky, showing he’d prefer him join in the bed, but Bucky laughed and shook his head. “I have plans,” he promised. “But first, I have to ask for your phone, doll.”

Tony froze and eyed his boyfriend suspiciously. “Why?”

Maybe he was paranoid, but if Bucky asked this politely then Tony smelled trouble. Any given day Bucky’d just grab it to mess with Tony and to enjoy his attempts to take the device back.

“Please?” Bucky used the puppy eyes and Tony was unable to resist them. He sighed and fished the phone out from under his pillow and handed it over.

“Nat sleeps with knives, Winter with guns, Steve with a book; it strangely suits you that you keep your phone there,” Bucky mulled, and with a single movement, he turned it off.

“Hey!” Tony protested, lunging forward and spilling the remnants of his precious coffee, but Bucky danced away and handed another phone instead of Tony’s.

Tony pouted. “Give me back mine!”

Bucky smiled with the calm of a monk. “I give you mine. No one will call us on it, unless we’re the only ones left to stop the world’s ending, but you’ll still access the internet and your files to fiddle with anything you’d want. How’s that sounds?”

Tony pouted some more, just for the dramatic measure, because he had to admit it made sense. In his case, he either turned his phone off and suffered with the tech-withdrawal (okay, he knew he was addicted, not like it was a bad thing in his case), or he left it on and then he couldn’t have an hour of uninterrupted peace. Even on mute he couldn’t stop himself from checking it if he got a notification.

Bucky, smart as he was, figured out the solution for the problem: giving Tony the necessary device to get his peace of mind, but without any contact to the usual bothering factors.

The morning started pretty good, after all. Tony only mourned the spilled drops of his coffee, until Bucky brought another one.

*

An hour later Bucky guided Tony to the garage, but instead of a car, Bucky’s bike waited them there, and the mere sight of it made Tony’s heart beat faster. Bucky loved his bike, especially since Tony improved it with some specialized feature to his liking, and yeah, Tony didn’t despise any good vehicle with lots of horsepower. Plus riding a motorbike  _ with Bucky _ sounded like a really thrilling experience. Bucky smirked at Tony’s visible excitement, and handed over a helmet.

Tony’s offer to drive was declined gently but firmly. “You don’t even know where are we going,” Bucky kissed him for a few minutes, but then he held himself back. They had a trip, after all, and Tony hesitateds only for a passing moment.

Wrapping his arms around Bucky’s waist, snuggling close and burying his face to Bucky’s neck was amazing. The hum of the engines between their legs, the vibration of the machine went straight to Tony’s cock and he had to take deep breaths, inhaling Bucky’s soothing scent to stop himself from fidgeting and therefore ruining Bucky’s balance as he drove, until they arrived to their destination. Turned out, it was a park, and Bucky brought picnic with himself.

Tony gaped at the traditional basket. “I’ve never been in a picnic before,” he admitted, and his throat felt raw and he didn’t look Bucky in the eye. He didn’t want to ruin everything – not even by accident or not knowing the rules of their date or—

“Hey,” Bucky lifted Tony’s chin and kissed him until they both smiled. “Stop overthinking everything, genius,” he scolded. “It’s a picnic, the only thing we have to do is enjoying it, so fuck everything else.”

“Well. I’d never say no to the fucking part,” Tony grinned instantly.

“Just my luck,” Bucky chuckled.

Tony checked the internet while Bucky arranged everything, and next time Tony looked up, there was a huge plate in front of his nose with a whole cake on it. An  _ Iron Man Cake. _ Tony involuntary squeeked. “Oh my God, Bucky, where did you even get this?!”

The red and gold marzipan covered the cake showed the suit’s helmet. The shape of the eye made Iron Man look menacing, maybe even angry, but the creator made sure to arrange the mouth into a smile despite it being an incorrect portrayal.

Tony loved it.

“I’ve baked it,” Bucky shrugged, and Tony’s hand stopped halfway.

“ _ What?” _

Bucky blushed. “I’ve made it,” he repeated, this time quieter.

Tony carefully put down the cake and only then jumped at Bucky to topple him down and kiss him senseless.

“No one made me a cake ever,” Tony confessed to Bucky’s mouth, and Bucky tightened his hold.

“’T was about damn time then.”

Later they discovered that Bucky had managed to switch salt and sugar in the kitchen, making the cake completely inedible, but luckily he also packed food enough for a smaller army, so Tony didn’t mind it much. He appreciated the effort more than the result anyway, at least in this particular case.

*

Every one of Bucky’s gifts were handmade, carefully crafted and passionately loved in the making. The cake, obviously, and every other food with them was the result of Bucky spending the previous (two) day(s) in the kitchen.

He also made an album, collected some of the best pictures Jarvis or the other team members took of them, stickered them on colored paper with notes of the date and context of the pictures. Given the variety of pens and states of handwriting, he had probably did this for a while – there were pictures when they weren’t even together, when Winter and Bucky wasn’t yet separated and of course, there were photos of them in the various stages of their relationship. There were team gatherings and movie nights, arm maintenance with Winter and paintball with Clint, quiet reading with Steve and rock climbing with Natasha, failed attempts at yoga with Bruce and loud drinking contests with Thor, laughing with Rhodey and knitting with Pepper, hugging with Peggy and driving with Happy.

Tony didn’t expect tears from his birthday, but here they were. He turned away and tried to sniffle as discreetly as he could, wiping his eyes and clearing his throat, while he held the folder to his chest.

Bucky probably expected that too, because immediately presented the next gift without saying a word, just smiling at him, never faltering. The wrapping paper gave the opportunity to Tony to gather himself together a bit.

The T-shirt that he found inside was white, but as Tony unfolded it, he realized there were words written on it too.

_ ‘I’m rich, bitch,’ _ the bold black letters preached.

Tony couldn’t suppress his guffaw. Bucky made a hand gesture and Tony turned the shirt.

_ ‘Despite the kids,’ _ the back of it said around the Avengers logo, accompanied by the insignia of all of their teammates. From Cap’s iconic shield to Nat’s hourglass, from Hawkeye’s arrow to Hulk’s fist, from Thor’s hammer to Winter’s red star and Peggy’s eagle.

Tony howled with laughter. “They didn’t know what did they sign, right?” he guessed.

“Was just a white shirt at the time,” Bucky shrugged. “I told them to draw these on it before I made the caption.”

“You are truly a Chaotic Good person.”

“I have to keep up with you, after all” Bucky shrugged, then grinned again. “I have one more thing for you that is actually mostly from Pepper, though.”

The Thing was an envelope, a regular, boring office supply kind. Tony raised a curious eyebrow and opened it. He’d recognize Pepper’s signature anywhere, and right now it was under nine printed words.

**_VACATION_ **

**_NO DUTIES REQUIRED AT ALL_ **

**_JUNE 4-10_ **

And at the bottom of the hard paper, with tiny familiar handwriting, a small message from her:

_ ‘Your boy is a tough negotiator. I want to hire him once you’re back from your vacation. Have fun!’ _

Tony blushed and cried and laughed at the same time and felt like his heart will explode of all the love pressured into it. Ha laid down and let Bucky cuddle him as he stared at his boyfriend and tried to wrap his head around the fact just how lucky he was.

He had a team, who were friends and family at the same time, and this circle included his badass boss too; plus he had a boyfriend whom he loved more than he could ever express. He had a birthday celebrated the way Bucky knew he would enjoy: together and far from the fuss surrounding the date, without obligations and journalists and responsibilities.

And apparently he even had a vacation ahead of him. He leaned closer to Bucky and grinned. "Hey honey, did you know I have a private plane? Where do you want to start?"

**Author's Note:**

> Out of the five prompts I was given, I've chosen this three to work with. I hope I've covered as much as possible! :)
> 
> 1\. Bucky and Winter are two separate personalities. Now, an attempt to merge the personalities result in them being split into two bodies. Surprisingly, both Bucky and Winter get along fantastic - they are BFFs, everything's great; it's like the happy-go-lucky (and rehabilitated) James Buchanan Barnes showed up with a twin. Tony has no idea what to do about this - he already spends most of his time (all) walking around (into walls) with a hard on. One Barnes was hot enough, now two?!?! And why is everyone acting like this is okay?! This must be Ragnarok ;-) (MCU)
> 
> 2\. A chain of events covering the timeline from Bucky's birthday (March) to Tony's birthday (May) their first year together. Bonus points if you start from Valentine's Day. Extra bonus points if you start from New Year's (which is when they get together) (MCU)
> 
> 5\. Bucky meets Sebastian Stan (MCU)


End file.
